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Sunday, May 20, 2012

POLICY BRIEF

Getting the facts right: Reporting
ethnicity and religion

01|
Introduction

The interest in the way media report on ethnic and
religious issues has increased in the last decade. The examples of unethical
reporting on immigration, globalization, economic insecurity, and
multiculturalism have raised the burning question of whether journalists have
done more harm than good when covering events and issues that touch upon
ethnicity and religion. The ground rules of factual, fair and balanced
reporting have been evoked to highlight the growing concern over the media’s role
in reproducing prejudices, stereotypes and hate speech in an increasingly
diverse Europe.

This
document is a summary of the study Getting the facts right: reporting
ethnicity and religion which explores how the core values of
journalism, inscribed in international and national codes of ethics, are
applied in everyday journalism practice as related to coverage of ethnicity and
religion.

The
study is based on critical analysis of 199 news reports and interviews with 117
journalists and editors in nine European countries: Denmark, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom.

Newsmakers’
awareness of the danger of discrimination based on, ethnicity, religion, and
national or social origins, as well as their responsibility to avoid stirring
up tensions, stimulating confrontation and intolerance is discussed by
addressing the following questions:

What
professional norms guide editors and journalists when reporting on ethnicity
and religion? What newsgathering tools are most commonly used? What are the
institutional constraints in producing reports? What could be done better? What
makes excellent coverage? What type of journalistic work fuels intolerance
instead of providing information that supports intercultural understanding?

Europe
is changing and journalists’ engagement with that change has become one of the
pressing issues of today. The implications of media representation of ethnicity
and religion are significant because it fuels nationalism, spreading fear and
tensions instead of promoting tolerance and compassion.

02|
Main Findings

Editors
and journalists agree that the media have a responsibility to represent
different social groups accurately and fairly in order to support good
relations between people with a wide range of identities. The study found that
the main obstacles to good reporting are the poor financial state of the media,
overloading of reporters, lack of time, lack of knowledge, and lack of in-house
training.

WHO ARE THE JOURNALISTS COVERING ETHNICITY AND
RELIGION?

The
majority of journalists(64%)interviewed in
this studycover not only ethnicity or religion (beat
reporters) but a range of other different issues (they are ‘general
reporters’).

They
usually have a university degree, and half of those interviewed have a
postgraduate degree. The majority of interviewed newsmakers are male (58% of
reporters and 75% of editors). Their average age is 37.

All
journalists have a heavy workload, but British journalists suffer the most from
under-resourced newsrooms (producing more than 15 stories per week).

Newsmakers
say their own ethnicity and religion do not interfere with their work,
stressing a notion of detachment when it comes to reporting ethnicity and
religion. Journalists and editors agree that newsroom diversity is not a goal
in itself. They strongly emphasize that journalistic skill is the most
important qualification, and that it also takes good journalistic skills to
make use of one’s specific ethnic or religious background.

There is
a difference between general reporters and those who specialize in reporting on
ethnicity and religion when it comes to professional norms and standards. Journalists
covering diversity issues demonstrated significantly higher ethical standards
than the majority of general journalists interviewed. However,
grounding principles of objectivity, accuracy, fairness and balance lead
journalists in all nine EU countries surveyed, regardless of specific
journalism culture.

WHAT THEY KNOW

Newsmakers
are generally well aware of the fact that the majority of their audience have a
very poor level of knowledge about minority social groups and that few of them
have personal relations with persons of different ethnic or religious
backgrounds. This poses a dilemma about whether to give the issues of ethnic
and religious groups, immigration, refugees, and asylum seekers a special
status as an area which ought to be covered more often and with more caution
than other areas.

The
study has shown that journalism and human rights interact at several points.
Journalism can be seen as a human right – right to inform and be informed –
but, in the case of hate speech, can be seen as an instrument for human rights
violations. Journalism provides the means for promoting human rights by
reporting about events where violations occur, analysing, interpreting and
providing space for commentary on acts of discrimination and generally
increasing audiences’ knowledge and understanding of these issues.

Knowledge
about EU legislation relating to anti-discrimination is significantly higher
among those in old EU member states than new member states. There is a varied
awareness of legislation relating to equality between nations, with UK
journalists being the best informed about anti-discriminatory policies and
legislation.

All
journalists expressed a clear belief that journalism has a strong and important
role to play in tackling stereotypes and misinformation about ethnicity and
religion by reporting in a professional manner. A need to balance two main
tasks in reporting diversity issues were underlined:

Informing
the public about the issues and events as they occur and interpreting reality
in a way that provides a platform for a constructive public dialogue about the
issues of public concern.

HOW THEY REPORT ON THESE ISSUES

The
analyses of case studies of news coverage focused on journalistic tools used in
gathering, selecting, organising and presenting stories about ethnically and
religiously diverse societies. It revealed how journalism practice contributes
to the way media represent immigration, asylum seekers, refugees, members of
minority ethnic groups, and members of different religious groups.

The majority of stories that touch upon ethnicity
are nowadays framed within five broad themes:Immigration; poverty and crime;
discrimination; playing politics; ethnic minorities

The majority of stories on religion were reports on
contested issues such as: The veil issue; teaching Islam in schools;
integration; places of worship; abortion; islamophobia; religious extremism;
homosexuality; sexual scandals in the church.

All
phases in news production pose challenges in journalism work from finding
topics and approaching sources of information, to providing background
information, finding an angle, and presenting a story.

There is
a rise in using undercover reporting, first-hand experience, and testimonials
as powerful narrative tools to present stories about minority groups and the
problems they face in everyday life.

The good examples of media coverage of ethnicity and
religion are based on journalism practice that includes: In-depth reporting;
providing background information; explaining legal contexts; considering the
impact; giving a voice to the voiceless; showing respect; raising awareness
about diversity; avoiding stereotypes; taking a stand on discrimination; moving
beyond the event; minimizing harm.

OBSTACLES TO GOOD REPORTING

The
Study revealed the following obstacles in reporting on ethnicity and religion:

Lack of knowledge:
reinforcement of stereotypes in the media comes as a result of inadequate
knowledge about ethnicity and religion; many journalists expressed willingness
to attend courses that would help them understand the issues and support their
approach to these themes in their everyday work.

Lack of in-house training: the majority of those interviewed would like to
undertake some form of training that would support better handling of these
issues.

Poor financial state of the media: this is a problem in all the
surveyed states but is particularly acute in new member states.

Overloading of reporters: The economic crisis has had an impact on news
organisations by increasing the number of stories journalists have to cover per
day (particularly in Italy and Greece).

Lack of time to prepare reports: related to the poor financial
state of the media and the workload of journalists.

03| Recommendations

The
interviews and case study analysis have generated a number of ideas aimed at
supporting ethical, value based journalism. Variations in journalism cultures,
identified in newsmakers’ responses to the questions related to journalistic
norms and values, as well as particularities in using different journalistic
tools when reporting on religion and ethnicity, do not and should not prevent
journalists from applying universal ideas of good, accurate, fair, balanced,
responsible and trustworthy journalism.

Telling
the truth, providing equal access to media, being responsible, respecting
privacy, adhering to the normative set of journalism rules and values as well
as providing information necessary for the functioning of democracy and making
the significant interesting are listed as the main journalism duties along with
duties to a news organisation, colleagues and her/himself.

What can journalists do? The study has generated a list of
things journalists could do to improve the way they report on ethnicity and
religion. They should aim to: Get to know anti-discrimination legislation; use
a dialogue-oriented approach; use a broader network of expert sources; provide
background information; put facts in context; investigate documents in the
public domain (archives, libraries, local offices etc); interview people with
knowledge; portray people as human beings instead of representatives of
religious or ethnic groups; avoid negative labels; separate facts from opinion
but treat opinion as relevant.

What can editors do? Editors can improve overall media performance by:
Organizing in-house training for journalists; inviting members of religious and
ethnic groups to come to the newsroom; encouraging more senior journalists to
support younger colleagues in these matters supporting best journalism
practice; creating a culture of tolerance within the newsroom; working with
human resource departments to take into consideration newsroom diversity;
developing internal editorial guidelines that take in consideration national
and international codes of ethics.

What can newsmakers expect from CSOs? Civil society organisations who
highlight anti-discriminatory practices could support newsmakers by: Providing
regular updates on activities in the field; givingprofessional
advice and background information in matters of disputes; providing support in
finding sources for information; functioning as an advisory panel for the most
contested issues; providing ideas for stories that highlight the issues of
religious and ethnic groups.

What can newsmakers expect from universities? Universities could also play a
significant role in improving media treatment of diversity issues by:
Developing inclusive journalism curricula that better prepare students for
challenges in the real world; organising more post graduate training for
mid-career journalists; introducing courses on journalism ethics if they don’t exist
already.

What can journalists’ unions and associations do? The study also highlights the
role of journalists’ unions by listing a number of possible courses of action
they could take: Adopt and promote an ethical code for journalists; organise
training and workshops for journalists on issues related to tolerance,
religion, security policy, rights of minorities, and reporting on vulnerable
groups; establish an equality council or a working group within the union to
deal with the issue; develop guidelines on reporting on ethnicity, migration
and religion; develop a specific charter or code of conduct for reporting on
ethnicity, migration and religion; initiate campaigns and debates among
journalists, unions, publishers and civil society; adopt and enforce a
conscience clause in the collective bargaining agreements for journalists;
develop social dialogues with media organisations/owners to defend ethical and
quality journalism; examine the case for establishing a press council, or
question the value of the existing one; support public discussion on the work
of journalists and, for instance, media coverage of issues related to
tolerance, religion, security policy, rights of minorities and vulnerable
groups; establish an ethics commission to discuss cases and review the code of
ethics.

The
Study argues that good, responsible, reliable and ethical journalism
contributes to promoting intercultural dialogue and fighting discrimination in
Europe. It is important to demonstrate how high quality journalism can provide
the ground for rational debates of intercultural issues in society.

The study was produced by the Media Diversity Institute
(MDI) in partnership with ARTICLE 19, the International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ), the Journalists’ Union of Macedonia & Thrace Daily
Newspapers (ESIEMTH), the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union (LZS), and the Slovak
Syndicate of Journalists (SSN), as part of the ‘Ethical
Journalism Initiative: a Campaign to Fight Discrimination through Freedom of
Expression and the Highest Standards of Journalism’.

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